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The term 'Fridge' is short for refrigerator. It's now a common household electrical appliance that refrigerates and helps preserve food. A domestic refrigerator is present in 99.5% of American homes. A fridge may consist of just one cooling compartment, or just one freezing compartment (a freezer) or contain both. The dual compartment design was first introduced way back in 1939 by General Electric, and is still the most popular. Some specialist fridges do now have four divided areas. This is to refrigerate different food at the correct temperature. They usually refrigerate at -18°C (freezer), 0°C (meats), 4°C (normal refrigerator) and 10°C (vegetables). When buying a fridge you will find that the capacity of the refrigerator is measured in litres or cubic feet. A common fridge freezer will have a freezer volume of 100 litres and a fridge volume of 140 litres. The main design types of fridges are,

• Freestanding.
  
• Counter depth.
  
• Built under counter top fridge.
  
• Column fridges for a tall cabinet.
  

Retailers to try,

• The Electric Shop - quality service and competitive deals on all household appliances.
• Co-op Electrical Shop - Supply a wide range of Fridge Freezers at cheap prices.
• Mobile Coolbox - Mobile Coolbox portable cool box fridge freezers cool boxes mini fridges.

Some features you should look for are,

• LCD display suggesting ideal temperature.
  
• In-door icemaker.
  
• Cooling zone for the door shelves to keep milk fresh.
  
• A power failure warning.
  
• Frost-free operation.

Fridges and freezers are given a energy efficiency grade by most stores you buy from and from independent award bodies. The better the grade of a fridge the more electricity it conserves and means saving you money. For example Comet have a energy efficiency grade rated from A to C (A being the best). You can also find out the energy consumption such as 161kw/year, with the lower the energy consumption the less electricity it uses.

CFC & HFC free refers to appliances that are completely environmentally friendly. It has been manufactured without the use of CFC and HFCs which are harmful to the Earths ozone layer. For people who are concerned about the the environment this is an important feature to have in a fridge or freezer.

Adjustable thermostat offers you total control over the temperature of the fridge or freezer, helping you save electricity. Features such as these on a fridge or freezer are not standard however and are mainly included on more high end appliances such as the Bosch KDR40422 and Neff K5654X1GB.

Fast freeze facility allows you to freeze food much quicker, preserving more of the taste and texture. You can find this feature on freezers such as the Whirlpool ART472 and Aeg S2340KG8. To have fast freeze you mainly have to buy a freezer which is above average on cost. But as stated to helps to preserve food in a much better state, such as the technology supermarkets use to cheap their food as fresh as possible.

Frost free enables no build up of frost, so no need to defrost. This can save a serious amount of time and energy, because to defrost a freezer is quite a long and boring job. A good majority of freezers are now frost freeze and it is definitely a feature you should demand in a average priced freezer. A frost-free freezer has three basic parts a timer, heating coil and as temperature sensor to stop the build up of frost which happens when water vapor hits the cold coils.

Posted on 06 / 11 / 2008

Indesit Baan 10

Represents excellent value for money, the design is far from futuristic, but it's sub three hundred pounds. The interior is quite roomy, I am unsure whether it's very economical in terms of energy costs, but it's proved a practical purchase. The salesman said the annual cost would be in the region of twenty pounds, which did not seem excessive.

The motor is quite noisy though, the temperature settings were a little confusing at the beginning, but I've gotten used to them. I'd also prefer brighter interior lights, and positioned to give a clearer picture of what I have in my fridge. The fridge freezer is a budget model, so I did not expect it to have fast or frost free, or electronic temperature controls.

But, for the price I paid, £220, it has a A+ efficiency, and that's good enough for my needs.

User Rating -
dwagnets

Posted on 07 / 01 / 2006

Bosch KGU31125G

I have yet to find any bad points from new fridge freezer. It's been all good, it's extremely quiet, was
easy to install and use, includes useful features like a bottle rack and is big enough to store everything we need. For piece of mind it also has a two years manufacturer's warranty as standard. Overall, I am very pleased so far.

User Rating -
Claire

Popularity
Value for money
Ability to find on the Net
Better value than high street

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Fridges and Fridge Freezers are one of the most largest items to be bought for the kitchen and come in a range of sizes to fit small or large kitchens or utility rooms. The price of fridge freezers ranges quite a lot, with brand such as Candy having fridge freezers selling at cheap prices like £200, whereas Smeg retail at £700 plus.

Fridges and fridge freezers come in a range of styles such as compact, side by side and normal top / bottom standard fridge freezers. Some of the top brands who make fridge freezers are Amana, Avanti, Haier, Hotpoint, LG Electronics, Samsung, Sanyo, Scotsman and Whirlpool.

A standard fridge freezer should come with options such as a bottle rack in door, ice cube tray, egg tray, dairy compartment, adjustable door storage and a reversible doors for added versatility. Automatic defrost is another common feature in new fridge freezers that will save you the trouble of defrosting it yourself.

It is also good to find a 'Energy Star' badge for your fridge freezer. This will indicate that the appliance you are buying will have a lower annual operating cost. The energy guides are based on a national average.